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Though condemning the Boston Marathon bombings in which 3 people were killed and more than 100 wounded, Iran also criticized U.S. drone attacks in the Middle East. Some online Jihadis expressed happiness over the Boston attack. Photo: Wikimedia Commons via Aaron Tang.

President Barack Obama, along with Massachusetts’s top political leaders and Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, attended an interfaith service on Thursday at Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross to honor the victims of Monday’s Boston Marathon terror attack.

President Barack Obama, pictured, spoke at an interfaith service Thursday in Boston to honor the victims of Monday’s Boston Marathon attack. Credit: White House.

“This is Boston, a city with courage, compassion and strength that knows no bounds,” Obama said during a five-minute speech that also included reflections on the lives of 8-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell and Boston University Graduate student Lingzi Lu, the three fatalities of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Rabbi Ronne Friedman, senior rabbi at the historic Temple Israel of Boston, represented the city’s Jewish community at the service. During his sermon, Friedman spoke about the power of grief, quoting from Psalms 147:3.

“Grief contributes to loss and pain, but the way to overcome is to maintain a sense of life’s goodness and purpose,” Friedman said.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Governor Deval Patrick all spoke at the interfaith service, in addition to several other leaders from Boston’s various Christian denominations and from Boston’s Muslim community.